Signal system.



Patented Feb. Il, |902.

n l l nu WWWENKRR Mm/m 5 8765544.33 -M-m .zu

N E 5, ailfi 1ilidllll rw maud; ESd TLM HMM .GM EN@ u m S, Q

KR mu, 2 Dm. E NM AMT F., m if.

u vm,

gnyentoz affrontati UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD PETERSON, OF ST. HILAIRE, CANADA.

SIGNAL SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 693,308, dated February 11, 1902.

' Application filed J'uly 5,1901. Serial No. 67,182. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, EDWARD PETERSON, of St. Hilaire, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signal Systems; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same. n

Myinvention rela-tes particularly to railway signal systems, although it is applicable with advantage to other uses. y

The invention may be said, broadly speaking, to combine with a device adapted to su pport one or more train-order blanks removable means for retaining said train -order blank or blanks against displacement and means for operating a signal device While an order-blank is out of place. This removable means preferably consists'of a lever which is operatively connected to a semaphore and adapted to operate said signal when the semaphore fails to respond to its lever.

More specifically speaking, the preferred embodiment of myinvention may be said briefly to consist of a convenient box or' receptacle for train-order blanks; also, the said box located immediately behinda semaphore or signal-board lever, which virtually locks its contents (the order-blanks) till the lever is raised from across it, this process putting the semaphore to danger,7 thus preventing an operator accepting train-orders for delivery before it is so set also,that when any of the order-blanks so released are extracted from the box an electric signal device gives warning should an attempt be made to lower the semaphore-lever before the object of the extracted order-blank has been accomplished and the blank returned to the box; also, that the electric sigualwill give warning if the semaphore does not properly respond to its lever.

For full comprehension, however, of my invention referencexmust be had to the accom# panying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which like symbols indicate the same parts', and wherein- Figure l is a perspective view of a box coustructed according to my invention and provided with my improved signal device, and Fig. 2 is a plan View with the box-top partly broken away. c

The box b is preferably vertically arranged and has horizontal shelves c to support the order blanks or tablets tl. These shelves are preferably metallic, although, if desired, they can be made of Wood,paper, or anyother mate- 5 5 rial furnished with suitable contacts instead.

A vertical lever c is fulcrumed atits upper end,

as at f, to the top g of the open front of the box and is `of suflicient length to extend below the lo'wermost shelf, whilethe said lower 6o end has a handle g', and a perforated lug h upon the outside edge of the lever has one end ofthe chain t for operating the semaphore j connected thereto. A series of spring-contacts k are carried upon. the rear .65 of the box, one in line with each metallic shelf and adapted to normally make contact therewith, and a single spring-contact Z upon the top g ofthe front of the box is normally out of engagement with a contact m upon g. 7o` A battery n, including a bell o-in its circuit, has one pole connected by a wire p to the contact m Aand its other pole by a wire q to the electric bell o and thence to one of the metallic shelves through a perforation q' in the 75 side of the box, while lthe shelves and springcontacts are all in electrical contact with one another through wires r, s, and ,respectively. The Wire r leads across all the spring-contacts 7c and is electrically connected tol each. 8c The Wire s leads from one of these contacts 7c to the spring-contact Z, and the wire t electrically connects all the shelves c together, the free end of spring-contact Z being curled inwardly, as at Z. The lever e is fulcrumed upon the forward end of a bracket e', secured above the box and projecting a short distance over the front edge g thereof in order to cause the pull of the chain under the influence of the semaphore-spring to overcenter 9o the lever when down and hold it yieldingly l but tightly against the forward end of the order-tablets,thereby pushing the latter against the spring-contacts lo and displacing them from the shelves. A normally open short circuit is formedby a pair of wires u, and u, connected to the polar wires of the battery, and said short circuit includes a resistance-coil w and a switch fr.

The chain connection between the lever and 1f o semaphore and the spring-actuated means for operating the semaphore are and'may be of ordinary and well-known construction.

The object of the short circuit is to enable writes his despatch, (the lever being mean-v while upheld bythe semaphore mechanism,) and after fulfilling the object of it returns the tablet and lowers the lever. Upon the withdrawal of a tablet the particular springcontact 7c bearing thereupon will be allowed to make a contact with the shelf, thereby closing the battery-circuit except for the contact Z, which upon the raising of the lever will spring away from contact fm. 1f the operator should then lower the lever without replacing the tablet, the contact Z will be pressed toward the contact m, and immediately the curled end ZS thereof touches the said contact m (which will be before the lever is overcentered, and consequently held by the semaphore mechanism) the circuit will be closed and the bell rung until the lever is again raised and the tablet returned to its place, after which the lowering of the lever will push the spring-con tact 7s peculiar to the tablet from the shelf just as the contact 'l is about to touch the contact m, thus if the tablet is returned to its proper compartment preventing the bell-circuit being closed.

One of the main advantageous features of the above-described novel arrangement of the order-box immediately behind the lever is that the orderblanks cannot be removed from the box until the lever is lifted and the semaphore set at danger, thereby insuring the stopping of any train which would otherwise pass while the order is being written out or the tablet is for other reasons out of place. The rear spring-contact can, if desired, be made of sufficient strength to automatically push the order-blank out far enough to cause a contact to be made between each contact and its shelf when the lever is raised.

At times it is necessary to make more than two copies of an order-as, for instance, when the same order is to be delivered to, say, two or more trains, in which case, if fortwo trains with one engine each, tive copies willhave to be made, one to be delivered to each engineer, one to each conductor, and one to be retained by the operator. To facilitate this, I provide the series of compartments shown, and the numerals therein indicate to what extent the order can be manifolded by the tablet in each compartment. The number of compartments can be increased or diminished according to requirements.

lt is obvious that, if desired, the springcontacts 7a can be located at one or both sides of the box and each in such position as to insure the lifting thereof from the metallic shelf or contact thereon by a tablet as it is being slid into place.

My invention can with equal advantage be applied to systems comprising a horizontal lever; but in such case the lever would have to be provided with a cross-piece to perform the function of my present vertical lever, and the contacts themselves can be varied in their detail construction to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is as follows:

l. The combination of a train-order box adapted to contain a series of order-blanks, removable means for retaining said train-order blanks against displacement, and means for operating a signal device while an orderblank is out of place.

2. The combination with a semaphore, of an order-blauk-supporting device, a lever extending across and retaining the order-blanks in said device, and means for operatively connecting said lever to said semaphore to cause the semaphore to move to danger when the lever is moved away from the device.

3. The combination with a semaphore, of an order-blank box having a series of receptacles, a lever extending across said receptacles and retaining the order-blanks in same, and means for operatively connecting said lever to said semaphore to cause the semaphore to move to danger when the lever is moved away from the receptacles substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of a box having a series of shelves parallel to one another a bar extending transversely of said shelves; an electric contact upon each of said shelves; an electric battery; a wire connecting one pole of said battery to said electric contacts; an electric contact adjacent to said bar; a wire connecting the opposite pole of said battery to said last-mentioned electric contact; a contact normally out of engagement'with said last-mentioned contact and movable with said bar to make contact with said last-mem tioned contact when the bar is closed in adjacent to the shelves, and a wire connecting said movable contact to the first-mentioned pole of the battery, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with a semaphore-ac tuating lever, of means for operating a signal device when the semaphore fails to respond to its actuating-lever, said means consisting 4of an electric circuitincluding said signal device and having two breaks, one of said breaks being normally open and the other normally closed; means for closing said normally open break, and means for opening said normally closed break simultaneously when the lever is moved to actuate the semaphore; and means for again closing said lastmcntioned break and wir-thit the circuit when IOO IIO

the semaphore fails` to respond to its lever, for the purpose set forths 6. Thecombination with a semaphore-actuating lever of means for operating a Signat device when the semaphore fails. to respond to its actuating-lever, said means consisting of a pair of electrical contacts one normally Ain engagement with the other; a contact-4 breaker; said semaphore-lever being adaptedl when down to retain said contact-breaker be tween said pair of contacts; an electrical con tact adjacent to said lever when the latter is in its last-mentioned position; an electrical contact normally out of contact with saidlastmentioned contact and movable with said lever into and out of contact therewith; means electrically connecting the electrical contact movable with the lever to one of said pair of one another; a second series of electrical concontacts; an electric battery-one terminal whereof is electrically connected to the contact adjacent to said lever and the other ter-y minal whereof is electrically connected to the other contact of said pair and asignal device included in the circuit thus formed, for ythe purpose set fortln '7.-The combination with a semaphore-ac tuating lever of means for operating a signal device when the semaphore fails to respond to its actuating-levensaid means consisting of a stationary'electrical contact, a movable electrical contact normally Y engaging said first-mentioned contact; a contact-breaker; said semaphore-lever being adapted when down to retain said contact-breaker between said stationary and movable contacts; a stationary electrical contact adjacent to said lever when the latteris in its last-mentioned position; an electrical contact -normally out of'contact with said last-mentioned contact and movable with said lever into and out of.

tacts normally engaging said first-mentioned series of contacts; a contact-breaker; a movable bar extending across the spaces between f said first-mentioned series of electrical contactsk and adapted, when adjacent vto said contacts to retain said contactbreakers be-4 tween said iirst and second mentioned series of contacts; a single electrical contact adjacent to said bar when the latter is in its last- 1 mentioned position; an electrical contact nor- Inally out of contact with said last-mentioned Contact and movable with said bar into and out of contact-therewith; means electrically connecting said first-mentioned series of and said single 4contactstogether; means electrically-conuecting said second-mentioned se? ries'of and single movable electrical contacts together; an'electric battery one terminal whereof is electrically connected, to said firstmentioned seriesof contacts, and the other terminal whereof is electricallyconnected to said contact movable with the bar; and a formed, for the purpose setforth.

r7'5 .signal device includedin the circuit thus 9. The combination of a box having a series of metallic shelves parallel to one another a barextending transversely of said shelves; an

electric contact normally bearing upon'ea'ch of said shelves; an electric battery; Va wire connecting' one poleY of said battery to said yielding electric contact; an electric contact.

adjacent to said box; a wire connectingthe opposite pole of said battery to said last-menu,

tioned electric contact; an electric connection between said contact andshelves; a contact normally ont of engagementl Withsaid last-mentioned cntact and movable with said bar to make contact with said last-mentioned contact when the bar is closed inadjacent to the shelves, and a wire connecting said movablecontact to the first-mentioned pole of the battery, and a shunt-circuit includinga resistance device, said battery, said', bell and a normally open switch, substantially as describedand for the purpose setfortli.r

lO. The combination with a semaphore-ac tuating lever, of a train-order box having a series of contact-shelvesparallel to one an-y other and extending transversely of said box,

the front and rear sides Y of said box being open; a .series of spring-contacts located at` the rear of the box and normally bearing upon tact-shelves; a contact-piece upon thefront edge of .the,box; a spring-contact normally out of v contact withfsaid contact-piece; an

' electric battery; an electric bell; a Wire leading from one pole of said ybat-tery'to one terj-` minal of said bell; a Wire leading Yfrom the other terminal of said bell and connectedto each of `said contact-shelves; a wire leading from the opposite pole of said battery to the contact-piece upon the front of the box; a

wire leading from the spring-contact atthe 1 front of the' box and electricallyconnected to each of the spring-contacts at the rear ofthe.`v

box, said .box being located behind -andiin close proximity-to kthe semaphore-lever subf 'stantially as described and for the purpose set forth. l

ll. The combination with a semaphore-ac-,- tuating lever, of a train-order box having a series of contact-shelves parallel to on'ean other and extending transversely of said box, the front and rear sides of said box being open; a series of spring-contacts located at the rear of the box and normally bearing upon andy effecting electrical contact with said contact-shelves; a contact-pieceupon'the front 'edgeof the box; a spring-contact normally butof contact with said contact-piece; an

s and eifectin g electrical contact with saidA con- IIO electric battery; an electric bell; a, Wire leadconnecting the second and third mentioned ing from one pole of said battery to one ter- Wires, said box being located behind and in minal of said bell; a, Wire leading from the I close pi'oximity to the semaphore-lever, subothei terminal of said bell and connected to stanti-ally as described and for the purpose 15 5 each of said contact-shelves; a, Wire leading set forth.

from the opposite pole of said battery to the In testimony Whereofl have aixed my sigccntact-piece upon the front of the box; a natur-ein presence of two Witnesses. wire leading from the spring-contact at the l EDWARD PETERSON. front of the box and electricallyconnected to I 1o' each of the spring-contacts at the rear of the box and a normally open short-circuit device i Witnesses:

WILLIAM P. MCFEAT, FRED J. SEARS. 

